Printing-telegraph



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. G. FARMER. PRINTING TELEGRAPH.

Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

Ila/611 ,60 r

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MOSES G. FARMER, OF ELIOT, MAINE.

PRINTING-TELEGRAPH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,572, dated October 6, 1891. Application filed May 15, 1891. Serial No. 392,853. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MOSES G. FARMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eliot, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing-Telegraphs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the same.

My present invention involves a novel ap plication of the induction-coil or principle of induction to the operation of printing-telegraps, according to which I have produced a simple and economical system or combination of instruments for transmitting and printing dispatches which is better adapted for general usesuch as along railroads and the like-than the more complicated systems which have been proposed, and which requires on the part of the operators comparatively little previous knowledge or skill for its manipulation.

The invention is primarily an improvement upon a form of printing-telegraph which is shown in a patent granted to me July 22, 1856, No. 15,373, but is applicable to others, being in the main distinguished by the following particular features. I employ an induction-coil with primary and secondary circuits. The secondary circuit is connected to the main line, over which induced currents only pass, and in the main line are polarized relays for each instrument or station, that control the escapement or other means employed for rotating the type-wheel. The pri mary battery at each station, which is in operation only in transmitting, simply induces the currents that perform the work or control the action of the instruments.

By reference to the accompanying drawings the improvements which constitute my invention may be understood.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the main operative parts of the receiving and printing mechanism of the invention. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the printing devices. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of the parts comprising the invention connected by the proper circuit-wires.

At each station is a transmitting and receiving mechanismassociated in one instrument. The former comprises, essentially, a series of 7 keys A B, alternately connected to the positive larly associated with the keys B are the strips or bars G. The strips F G are normally in contact with bars or stops of any other proper kind H I, respectively, and are in contact with their respective keys only when the latter are depressed. If the keys A are connected to the positive pole of the battery, the bars or stops H, with which the strips F are normally in contact, are connected to the negative pole and the bar I to the positive pole. In conjunction with the keys I employ a sunflower or circuit disk K, composed of a circular series of metallic plates secured to an insulating-base, andaover these a contact-arm or trailer K is arranged to be rotated by any convenient mechanism such as is ordinarily used for this purposefor example, a ratchet-wheel R and two magnets m m, that actuate pawls m", that engage with said ratchet-wheel.

The trailer K is connected to the middle of the battery, and the contact-plates over which it sweeps are alternately connected with the positive and negative battery-poles through the strips F G and bars H I, respectively. Therefore if no key be depressed the movement of the trailer around the disk will close one-half of the battery-cells andvthen the other, alternately, in opposite directions, through the circuit of which the trailer forms a part. making the alternately-reversed currents induced currents from a primary coil T in a secondary T and causing these induced currents to actuate a polarized relay WV, that controls the two branches of a circuit containing a local battery 25 and the magnets m m. A single current-impulse in either direction will therefore advance the trailer one step; but the movements are so proportioned to the width of the plates L M that each single impulse moves the trailer from one plate L to another, as M.

The trailer K is conveniently mounted on a shaft 1 Fig. 1, on which or in gear with which is a type-wheel P and the ratchet or escapement wheel R, and it will be understood that when the proper relations be- This fact is taken advantage of in tween the numbers of the contact-plates L- M, characters on the type-wheel, and teeth of the ratchet-wheel are observed the position of the trailer will determine what character 5 is brought to the printing-point.

S is the printing-magnet, and S the printing lever or hammer operated thereby. The paper S is drawn by any proper devices for this purpose between the hammer and the type-wheel, and when the magnet S is energized the paper is forced up against one of the letters 011 the type-wheel, which are inked by the inking-roller s.

The operation of the instrument is as follows: Assume the circuit connections to be established by proper switches, which I have not deemed it necessary to show in detail in this case, to bring the line into condition for sending a dispatch, the trailer is moved onto one of the plates of the disk K-say one of the plates L. The trailer being connected to the middle of the battery and each plate L to the negative or zinc pole of the same through a wire L, the strip or lever F, and the bar H, a current will flow that induces a current in the coil T, and, according to its direction, shifts the polarized relay \V onto one of its contacts and advances the trailer one step or onto the next plate llI. By following the connections above described it will be seen that this sends a current in the reverse direction through the primary and secondary coils and the polarized relay, and that thereby the tongue of the relay will be drawn over to the opposite side and another impulse given to the trailer. If any key, as one of the keys B, be depressed to print the letter which it represents, the trailer and type-wheel revolve without interruption until the former, leaving one of the plates L, moves onto the plate M, connected with the strip or lever G of the particular key depressed. Such strip or lever by the depression of its key is carried away from the bar I, by which it was normally connected with the positive-battery pole; but by contact with its key it is now connected with the negative pole of the battery. The trailer, however, by its contact with the preceding plate L, has sent a current to the negative pole, so that it now sends another current or impulse in the same direction. This does not move the relay V, and consequently the trailer and type-wheel come to a stop with the desired letter at the print ing-point. This stoppage may be caused to operate the printing-magnet by such a device as the pallet X, which I have shown in Fig. 2. This pallet rests upon a toothed wheel on the shaft of the type-wheel, as the escapeinent or ratchet wheel R. \Vhile this pallet is borne upon one of the teeth of the wheel R it is raised out of contact with a fixed stop or pin 1). hen, however, it falls between two of the teeth of the said wheel, it turns so far as to bring its free end in contact with pin 19, by which means a local circuit containing the printing-magnet S and a battery I) is closed.

Durin the normal operation and movement of the wheel R the pallet is not permitted to remain in contact with the pin 10' for a sufficient length of time to energize the printingmagnet.

This apparatus in practice will be provided with some form of unison device; but as these are well known and generally used in instruments of this kind I have not illustrated any particular form herein.

The instrument at the distant station is the same as that shown. \Vhen not in use or when receiving, the circuit of the primary battery 0 is broken and the relay WV operated by the secondary impulses that come over the line from the transmitting-instrument.

It will be understood that in lieu of a single divided battery two independent batteries may be used and that in other and similar immaterial respects the apparatus herein shown and described may be modified and varied without departure from the invention.

Vhat I claim is 1. The combination, in a printing-telegraph mechanism; with a primary battery, step-bystep mechanism adapted to reverse the current of the same, and keys for reversing the order of the connections of any part or branch of the battery-circuit controlled by the stepby step mechanism, of a secondary line-c rcuit in inductive relation to the primary c rcuit and a polarized magnet or relay therein for actuating the step-by-step mechanism, as set forth.

2. In a printing-telegraph mechanism, the combination of a primary battery, a number of circuit branches corresponding to the characters to be printed and connected alternately to opposite poles of the battery, a trailer connected to the middle of the battery, and means for moving the same step by step over the terminal plates of the said branches, a primary coil in circuit with the trailer, a secondary line-circuit, a polarized magnet or relay therein for actuating or controlling the step-by-step mechanism of the trailer, and character-keys for reversing the order of con nection of each of the branches of the batterycircuit, as set forth.

In a printing-telegraph mechanism, the combination, with a primary-battery circuit, the current in which is reversed by the movement of the operative parts of theinstrument, of a secondary line-circuit in inductive relation to the same, a polarized magnet or relay therein for actuating or controlling the action of the instrument, and circuit-reversing character-keys for arresting such action, as set forth.

4:. In a printing-telegraph instrument, the combination of a sunflower circuit disk, branch circuits connected with the plates thereof and leading alternately from opposite battery-poles, a trailer arranged to sweep over the plates of said disk and connected to the middle of the battery, character-keys adapted to reverse the connections of each of the ITO branch circuits, a secondary line-circuit in inductive relation to the trailer-circuit, and a relay therein for actuating or controlling the movement of the trailer.

5 5. The combination, with a step-bystep mechanism actuated or operated by induced currents in aline-circuit, of a primary battery and circuit adapted to be reversed by said step-by-step mechanism for inducing the cur- IO rents in the secondary circuit, and characterkeys adapted to reverse the connections of any circuit or branch closed by the step-bystep mechanism,whereby two consecutive currents of the same direction may be-produced in the primary circuit, as set forth.

MOSES G. FARMER. Vitnesses:

SARAH J. FARMER, WALLACE E. DIXON. 

